Vincent Kompany, the coach of FC Bayern Munich, has stated that he will not resort to any creative methods to bypass his suspension for the Champions League semi-final against Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday.
Kompany is banned from the match after receiving a yellow card in the quarter-final second leg against Real Madrid. He will be unable to direct the team in the final hour before kickoff, must remain in the stands during the game, and is prohibited from any contact with the squad during halftime. His assistant, Aaron Danks, will be in charge of coaching FCB in Paris.
During a press conference on Monday, Kompany was asked if he had considered a legendary tactic similar to Jose Mourinho’s, who famously circumvented a Champions League ban by being smuggled out of the locker room in a laundry basket.
«I’m 1.92 meters tall. I wouldn’t fit in that laundry basket. Unfortunately,» the Belgian said with a laugh, which was echoed by the journalists present.
Jose Mourinho’s Ingenious Locker Room Strategy
In 2019, Mourinho admitted to beIn Sports that he had bypassed a UEFA ban during the 2004/05 season. As the coach of Chelsea FC, he was prohibited from managing his team in the quarter-final against Bayern Munich but devised an ingenious solution. «I went into the locker room hours before the game and stayed there until kickoff. I really wanted to be there when the team arrived,» he recounted.
The escape from the locker room after the match proved more challenging. «The kit manager hid me in the laundry basket. The lid was slightly open so I could get air. As the kit manager took me out of the locker room in the basket, UEFA officials followed us, looking for me. So, he closed the basket completely, and I couldn’t breathe properly. When he finally opened it again, I thought I was dying,» Mourinho recalled with a grin.
Vincent Kompany: «Unfortunately, I Have a Lot of Experience with This»
While Kompany still finds his suspension incomprehensible, he indicated that it’s not entirely unprecedented for him. «There’s probably only one coach who has experience with not being on the sidelines, and that’s me. In my early coaching years, I was a player-coach. The rule was: if you’re injured, you can’t be on the sideline. And unfortunately, I was injured often,» he said, adding, «I’ve experienced many, many games from the stands in various stadiums. Unfortunately, I have a lot of experience with this issue.»
Kompany served as player-coach at Belgian club RSC Anderlecht during the 2019/20 season. He retired from his playing career in the summer of 2020 after missing the first two matches of the new season due to injury, transitioning fully into coaching.
FC Bayern’s Upcoming Matches:
| 28.04., 21:00 | PSG — FC Bayern |
| 02.05., 15:30 | FC Bayern — Heidenheim |
| 06.05., 21:00 | FC Bayern — PSG |
| 09.05., 18:30 | Wolfsburg — FC Bayern |